Looking Outward


Lately, everywhere I look are platitudes, sayings, and many outward manifestations of achieving peace, harmony, and happiness. Those words are great and hold important ideas and sentiments. However, those words are just words if we don't know how to implement them or how to do the work from the inside out. We look outward for happiness and peace. And actually, it is in a sense easier to look outward for these things rather than to look inward. 


It is easy to look at a picture of a forest in the sunshine with a smiling man or woman walking along a path and to say to ourselves, wow isn't that beautiful. It is easy to look at a photo with words about joy and happiness and want that and appreciate it. What those photos and platitudes are missing is the day to day trench work of the work involved. Yes, people post ideas with 4 or 7 steps to happiness or abundance, etc. People post 7 steps to achieving success or joy with proven success. These are enticing. Who doesn't want abundance and success and joy and happiness? Who really wants to do the inward work?


The ironic thing is that although the work is hard, it really is fun in that by doing the deep work we can begin to experience a change in our being and psyches. This happens maybe not right away; right away is a feeling of being lost and vulnerable and scared and anxious and even in pain. If we stay with it, before long, along with the pain we begin to experience more inward strength or a decrease in anxiety or a sense of relief. That is fun…..although I am sure many of us might choose a different word, hahaha.     


Looking inward holds the old pains of not being seen, not being heard, being disrespected, being hurt and betrayed, and so on. Walking into those areas with a flashlight to see these old hurts a little differently and with some help and wisdom, leads us into a deep and dark tunnel where we can't see the light in front of us other than from our little flashlights. It isn't pretty or beautiful at the time. It is scary….when will the light come? And then we begin, slowly, to feel again, and to find these old pieces of us by the sides of the dark tunnel that we may have left behind. We begin to see what we had to do to survive without the shame or blame we had always felt, but now with some compassion. We slowly see the others that had hurt us or we had hurt, with eyes of a different understanding.  We learn how to talk with ourselves along the way; words of comfort and understanding and even newfound wisdom. And we stop and rest and wonder when this will end. Soon we realize it will never end. The learning is continuous in that there is almost always more. Soon we realize that we aren't looking for the beautiful pictures and words of happiness, we are beginning to live them for ourselves along the path of the tunnel. The tunnel opens up with more light so we can see the flowers we are planting along the path. We begin to hear the birds sing and call to us on our way. And we realize that this is the journey and the work and the beauty and the love and the happiness and the peace. It is an inward journey of life and towards life. As we gain more and more light we realize we have the choice of really feeling better, or looking outward for moments of pretty pictures and words. It is possible, and we are possible. 


Shift Your Story/Shift Your LifeI would love it if any of you would like to share your personal story or journey along this path of life. And if it is ok for me to publish your story so others can learn and see what is possible, please let me know. 


My soothing words of wisdom for the week is about looking at your dark side:


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